Deuces Are Wild
by NightsDawne


Chapter 5: I'm Not About To Let You Fly Away

Seifer pushed himself to his feet. He was standing in a meadow, a forest in front of him, tucked between two mountain ridges. Storm clouds gathered overhead, casting a blue curtain over the scene.

"Seifew!" He turned, seeing Galbadia Garden rising from the field of flowers, arched walls curving in on themselves like a lotus. A little boy ran towards him, arms outstretched, fine brown hair with a hint of auburn blowing wild in the chilly wind. He dropped to one knee as the boy reached him, throwing his arms tightly around his neck. "I knew you'd come get me, you wouwdn' weave me hewe."

Seifer wrapped his arms around the boy protectively. "Irvy?" Thunder cracked the sky like a gunshot. Irvine looked over his shoulder, trembling. "What's wrong, Irvy?"

"It's coming," the boy whispered. "The monstew is coming."

"Griever? You can see him? He's here?" Seifer sucked in his breath, looking towards the Garden. The sky darkened above them as something rose from behind the walls, batlike wings outlined against the blackening clouds. His heart started pounding in his chest. Oh God, it was going to happen all over again. He picked Irvine up and ran. He heard the GFs roar and looked over his shoulder. They were in a tunnel, a train tunnel. Griever had to drop to the ground, folding his wings tight against his scaled body, crawling forward on his clawed feet, eyes glowing with hunger.

"Don' wet him get me, Seifew!" Irvine hugged Seifer's neck desperately.

"Light. He hates light, Irvy. We have to find light." He ran again, stumbling over metal tracks, nothing but blackness and the faint gleam of the tracks in front of him, something he didn't want to look at behind. He tripped, going down to one knee painfully, gripping Irvine to keep from dropping him. Griever's roar echoed off the curve of the walls behind him, spurring him back to his feet. He had no way to protect them, no weapon, no GFs. Their only hope was to escape the darkness the demon fed on. He ran forward, a sliver of light catching his eye from one of the tunnel walls. He threw himself at it, banging his shoulder against the crack in the wall, shielding Irvine's face against his coat as dirt and rock showered them. Irvine gripped the collar of his coat in terror. He looked back again. Griever's eyes shone as the GF made his way around the bend, spotting his prey once more. Seifer clenched his teeth and slammed his full weight against the wall, feeling it give, break, sending him stumbling through into harsh light.

He squinted, his eyes fighting to adjust to the change. They were in the disciplinary room of Balamb Garden. Unadorned desks stretched away in rows of three, a few cadets looking up from their schoolwork but obeying the strict rule of silence in the room. The only noise was the sound of someone writing on the chalkboard, a slow tedious scrape of a cadet forced to write sentances for his infraction.

"Almasy, how entirely expected. Have a seat." Seifer turned, furrowing his brow at the circlar hat that covered the features of the faculty member.

"I didn't do anything. We need to get help."

The faculty member only pointed to a chair, seeming oblivious to the boy in Seifer's arms. "You disobeyed orders during a field exam. You put the lives of cadets in danger. You were insubordinate to your instructor and your SeeD supervisor."

"Fuck this shit! I'm not a Goddamn cadet!"

"You're only adding to your list of charges, Almasy. You will take a seat and obey the rules."

"I'm scawed, Seifew." Irvine looked up, starting to cry.

Seifer took a deep breath, looking around the room. It was light, at least. He walked to a chair and sat down, setting Irvine down on the floor in front of him. "We're okay here, Irvy." Irvine only continued to cry, his entire body trembling with fright. Seifer looked up, but nobody else seemed to be paying attention to the little boy. He looked back at him, sighing and taking his shoulders in his hands. "Shh. We're okay. Irvy, I need you to be quiet so I can think." Irvine looked up at him, hiccups of sobs jerking his shoulders, big violet eyes swimming with tears. Seifer held his shoulders tighter, knowing he had to get Irvine calmed back down. Griever would hear his crying and find their hiding place. "Irvy, don't be a crybaby!" Irvine shuddered, his eyes widening as he gulped, sniffling against his crying, struggling to stop. He gasped in deep breaths, growing quiet. Seifer relaxed. "That's my brave little bro." Irvine held his arms up and Seifer scooped him to his lap, rocking him a bit as Irvine dropped his head against his shoulder. "You don't have to be scared, okay? I'm not going to let him get you. Let's just rest here for a while." He felt Irvine's nod against his shoulder and dropped his cheek against the boy's hair. "Everything's gonna be alright."

Squall turned away from the infirmary bed. It was all hard to believe. Rinoa had said they were going shopping. What were they thinking, sneaking off to Ellone to get inside of Seifer's head? Now not one but two SeeDs were frozen in some nightmare, trapped in Ellone's mysterious gift. Quistis was on one side of the bed where Irvine lay, clutching his hand tightly in frightened silence. Cid was pacing the other side of the bed, looking even more worried than one would usually expect. Irvine had always been his favorite of the orphans, they all knew that. Squall hoped the Headmaster wouldn't keel over from a heart attack and make things even worse. He stepped over to look into the other room, watching Selphie as she lay curled against Seifer's chest as if she were a human heart monitor trying to make sure he was still alive. Fujin and Raijin sat on the opposite side, faces set in grim anxiety. They'd all probably expect him to do something about it. He was the SeeD commander, after all, but what the hell could he do?

"I don't get how Ultimecia could do anything to them. She and her GF are dead." Laguna sat out in the main room of the infirmary, rubbing the back of his calf. ".. Aren't they?"

Edea lifted her head from where she sat, one hand on Rinoa's back, the other on Ellone's, comforting both girls. "They're dead. It isn't Ultimecia that has them trapped. They're locked in Seifer's shut off memories."

"Memories? What?" Laguna furrowed his brow, lost. What an airhead, thought Squall. Does he have to make it so obvious he's not following?

"Traumatic events. Things Seifer has pushed away or lost to the GFs. It's a self-defense mechanism. Some things are just too hard to live with." Edea closed her eyes, her beautiful face drawn with her own painful memories, possessed by Ultimecia, witnessing as Seifer was possessed by Griever. "Griever is only alive in his mind, but where they are, he's just as dangerous as ever."

"So what do we do?" Zell looked at Squall expectantly. "We gotta get them out of there." Squall looked away from him. What exactly did he want him to do? Snap his fingers and make the boogeymen go away? It was Seifer's head that was screwed up.

"They have to find the way out. I don't know that they can do it by themselves." Edea chewed her lip. "If they don't, they'll be trapped in there where Griever is alive and real. Someone has to go in and help them find the way out."

Rinoa sat up, wiping tears from her cheeks. "I'll go in. It's all my fault they're in there."

Edea shook her head. "We'll need you on this side. You and I will have to stay here and help Seifer and Irvine get out again."

"I'll go." Squall turned, seeing Selphie behind him, her face set in a fierce determination he wasn't used to.

"Selphie, it'll be dangerous." Zell stood, eyes narrowing.

Selphie shook her head, her hands in fists. "I love Seifer. He trusts me. I'm the only one who can help him."

Zell looked at Squall. "Aren't you going to stop her?"

Squall studied Selphie's face, then nodded slowly. "Just be careful in there. I don't want to lose another SeeD, got it?"

Selphie nodded. "Got it, Commander." She looked to Edea. "What do I look for, Matron? How will I know the way out?"

"It will be a mirror that shows this side of things."

"A mirror, gotcha." Selphie looked to Ellone. "Well, the infirmary's out of beds." She walked past Squall and took a seat in Dr. Kawodaki's chair, leaning back. "As Seify always says.. let's roll." Ellone nodded, stepping over to take Selphie's hand in hers as Edea went to Seifer's bedside and Rinoa sat down at the foot of Irvine's bed.

Squall looked at Zell, who was about ready to jump out of his skin with tension. One of his hyperactive outbursts and things were likely to get screwed up. He should give him something to do. "... Zell, go to the cafeteria and get us some lunch."